Mourners remember ‘happy, beautiful’ young man fatally shot after soccer game

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A 22-year-old man fatally shot outside a Winnipeg soccer complex a week ago came to Canada with his family as refugees escaping civil war in their native Somalia.

Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi was remembered as a youth full of promise and a talented soccer player, as dozens of mourners gathered at the homicide scene Saturday for a memorial that carried a message of love, unity and peace.

“He came from Somalia to Winnipeg for a better life,” said Kadar Ahmed, president of Masjid Bilal, also known as the Winnipeg Islamic Centre. “When I talked to the dad, he told me he was running from gun violence, but today that gun violence came to me in front of my door.”

Abdullahi was shot multiple times in what police believe was a targeted attack, after playing for Team Eritrea in a Canada African Cup of Nations match at about 11:30 p.m. on July 13.

The homicide happened in a parking lot at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on Waverley Street.

The Winnipeg Police Service has not disclosed a suspected motive, but said the incident was not connected to the soccer competition. Police have not announced any arrests.

People at the memorial were encouraged to contact police if they had information about the slaying.

Ahmed remembered Abdullahi as a “happy, beautiful” young man who loved to play soccer and run in marathons.

A few hours before he was killed, Abdullahi had dinner with his father, who told his son he would see him when he returned home from the match, said Ahmed.

Abdullahi’s mother and sisters had returned to their homeland for a two-week visit, said Ahmed. He said Abdullahi’s mother was so weak with grief she was unable to fly home in time for her son’s funeral.

Urging people to love and be kind to each other, Ahmed said he has seen too many young lives, especially those of black youth, cut short in Winnipeg in recent years. He called for an end to violence.

CHRIS KITCHING / FREE PRESS
Jean-Paul Murhabazi paid tribute to his friend and soccer teammate, Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, at a public memorial Saturday. Abdullahi was fatally shot after a Canada African Cup of Nations game at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on July 13.

“If we cannot today prevent this kind of tragedy, it will keep going, and it will affect every family or every community in Winnipeg,” he told the audience, while encouraging elected officials to increase recreation, employment and other supports for young people.

Jean-Paul Murhabazi, who played alongside Abdullahi for Galacticos FC in the Manitoba Major Soccer League’s first division, was in tears when he learned of his friend’s death.

“He was more than a friend. He was a brother,” Murhabazi said after the memorial. “He was not violent. What happened to him is a tragedy.”

Abdullahi spent time in a refugee camp in Ethiopia before arriving in Canada in 2014. He went to Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg, was interested in auto mechanics and was devoted to his parents and sisters, said Murhabazi.

Abdullahi was a volunteer youth soccer coach. Before his death, he organized a five-week camp for Somali children, mourners were told.

They also heard from African community leaders and Deputy Premier Uzoma Asagwara. The MLA for Union Station echoed the message of love, unity and peace.

“I think about beautiful, young Mohamed… who should be here today competing, and instead we are grieving the loss of his life taken far too soon,” said Asagwara. “I also grieve the person who would make such a violence decision, and I wonder what do we have to do to show that person enough love that they do not make that decision?

“My ask today is that, when we leave here, that we think about what we need to do as one community, so that if someone is one the precipice of making a bad choice, that they have just enough love and they feel just enough apart of community that they stop.”

Winnipeg police officers and private security guards were present for the memorial and the competition, which resumed with semifinal matches Saturday evening. Private security guards used a metal-detecting wand on people entering the facility.

The No. 13 jersey that Abdullahi wore for Team Eritrea will be retired.

The memorial was hosted by the Canada African Cup of Nations’ executive board, which described the shooting as a “senseless” act of violence.

“It’s a tragedy to all of us, and it’s a shock,” board president Gode Katembo told the Free Press. “He was a talented young man. He was loved by many.”

CHRIS KITCHING / FREE PRESS
Mourners gathered at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on Waverley Street on Saturday to remember Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, who was shot to death after a game at the facility July 13.

Katembo, who didn’t know Abdullahi personally, described him as one of the top players in the competition.

The board decided to proceed with the rest of the tournament to honour Abdullahi, after consulting his family.

“We decided the greatest way to honour him is to continue playing the game he loved with the same passion and joy,” said Katembo.

The board has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses and to support Abdullahi’s family.

Katembo said the board is working with other organizations to provide mental health supports to those affected by the incident.

The Canada African Cup of Nations is held annually in Winnipeg. Katembo said the non-profit organization that runs the event strives to provide safe spaces and recreation to young people who are at-risk or may otherwise be hanging out on the streets.

The shooting was the 23rd homicide in Winnipeg this year.

Police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said the investigation is ongoing.

“There is no information to relay at this time,” he wrote in an email.